Monday, 13 August 2012

The end of London 2012....

Well done team GB in the Olympics! I hadn't thought that at the beginning I would enjoy it so much, seeing it as a inconvenience being so close to Stratford rather than anything else but once it got started I was glued to the telly watching it practically 24/7. I got addicted to sports that I had never known the rules before such as the cycling in the Velodrome, Judo and Volleyball to name a few as well as a few already favourites such as Tennis, Rowing, Hockey and Swimming and that's what I loved about the whole competition. It helps to inspire people to take up sports and give young people role models to look up to. It is making me want to be involved in sport again like I used to be when I was younger. (We will see how that goes...)
Now that the Olympics is over I feel like there is a small hole left in my soul wanting to watch Andy Murray win gold again or watching people who actually deserve to be supported and followed in their sports who some also have ordinary jobs too unlike some of the footballers we pay millions to (but I won't go into that).
Although the opening and closing ceremonies were a bit slow going at times but they were worth the wait and made me feel extremely proud to be British.
I especially liked being reminded of my youth when the Spice Girls were playing (and Boris dancing away) and I was waiting to see whether they celebrated British fashion and the designers and I wasn't disappointed.
David Bowie's 'Fashion' playing as famous models such as Lily Cole, Kate Moss, Georgia May Jagger and Naomi Campbell as well as others came strutting down the 'Union Jack' catwalk wearing dresses from British designers such as McQueen, Erdem, Christopher Kane, Burberry, Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Jonathan Saunders and Victoria Beckham.

David Gandy in Paul Smith and Jourdan Dunn in Jonathan Saunders and Stephen Jones

Lily Donaldson in Vivienne Westwood
(All these dress photos are from Vogue)

I also enjoyed the music although people like George Michael and Paul McCartney were a bit unnecessary and long winded. However I was happy to see my all time fav Annie Lennox making a massive production (which is what she is good at) a contribution to the legend Freddie Mercury and I liked how they combined the new and the old. Even though there is something about Jessie J that annoys me I liked how they used her with Brian May and also with Tinie Tempah and Taio Cruz, and I liked how they rocked it up too with The Who too! There's too much to remember from one night but a lot of people have said they preferred the opening ceremony but I liked both. The opening was very theatrical and showed the world our history, whereas the closing was a fun celebration of what we have achieved in Britain which is what the whole Olympics has been about. I feel it really brought back the fun and enjoyment in the Olympics which I feel has been lacking in the past Olympics (I might be biased being British but hey ho!) They both have been a bit tedious in waiting for the ceremonial stuff such as the speeches and waiting for the 200 or so countries to come in but I like the traditions otherwise it wouldn't be the Olympics!

The opening and closing ceremonies are just a small part of the Olympics and are not what it is all about but it helped to build our expectations for the brilliant competition we have had and to end it on a high.
All I can say is I can not wait for the Paralympics!

(pictures have all been reference underneath each one, none of these are my own)